Crystalline
by 12808
Summary: After losing someone, the Doctor and Donna comfort one another.


**crystalline**

"It's okay to be sad, you know," Donna said to the Doctor, holding out a cup on a saucer. She waited until he'd taken it before sitting next to him on the outcropping. Her legs hung over the edge, letting her dip her legs halfway up to her calves into the clear waters of a vast ocean on Kataa Flo Ko. It was cool, a welcome therapy to muscles and skin still a little sore from all that running on Messaline. The tea she'd brought for them both was just the right temperature, warm enough to comfort and soothe, but cool enough not to burn, a delicate balance that seemed so much easier to achieve with material things than with words.

Donna didn't think she was particularly gifted with words - she was no poet, that much she was sure of - but she tried.

"I mean, she was part of you, so of course it's got to hurt," she continued, looking from the glittering diamond coral in the water below to the golden-brown hue of the tea in her cup. "It even hurts _me_, and she wasn't anything of mine."

She watched him take a sip of his tea, swallow, and shrug. "She grew on you, though," he said after what felt like forever. "She grew on me, and I didn't even want her at first."

Donna nodded, shifting just slightly, itching to move and comfort him but unsure of what the gesture would mean. It seemed like the more they did, the more they saw, and the more they survived together, the less likely it was that she could ever stay away. He was writing himself into her mind and soul, into her past, present, and future. It scared her. Being separated from him during the incident with the Sontarans had ripped at her insides even as it allowed her to see just how strong she could be on her own.

Their close encounter with death on Messaline had not been their first, but it had hurt in a different way. He'd lost family. She knew what that was like. They were a family now, or something like it, and she would die if something happened to him. She remembered the haunted look in his eyes when he'd spoken of Rose back when they'd first met. His sadness now was similar. They had only known Jenny for a day. What would it be like for him if it was Donna's turn, all of a sudden?

The thought sent a chill through her, so she sipped at her tea, happy for just how perfect it had turned out. Beside her, the Doctor hadn't seemed to take notice. She swung her legs back and forth in the water, watching the ripples spread and the light play a beautiful, web-like dance on its surface and on the sand below. She heard him give a little snort, and when she looked, she saw him crack a tiny smile. Her lips pulled back to form one, too.

"I really like this planet," she said, tearing her gaze away from his face to look at the blue-green sky, the orange-red sand, the crystalline water. "It's gorgeous. I'm so glad you thought us here."

The compliment seemed to cheer him considerably. He straightened, grinning. "Knew you'd love it. Diamond coral reefs - they're one of a kind! This is the only planet in the entire universe to have them. It's a marvel."

Wonder replaced grief in his eyes, and relief replaced apprehension in Donna's heart. Without thinking, she placed her hand over his wrist. In response, he took his cup and saucer in his other hand and took hers more properly, lacing his fingers between hers.

"You're a marvel," he said to her, very serious despite the sweet smile he was giving.

It made her cheeks turn a shade redder than average as she shook her head.

"But you are, though! Back of the head?"

"Just following orders."

"Never orders, Donna. Just suggestions." He gave her hand a squeeze.

"Yeah, well." She shrugged. "Someone's got to be here for you, yeah?"

A flash of pain crossed his eyes, and she regretted saying what she had. But then he nodded and smiled and said, "Yep. You stop me when I need to be stopped. Dunno where I'd be without you, Donna. Really."

She laughed, a quiet chuckle, then wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Bit much there with the affection, spaceman."

"Yeeah," he agreed, tilting his head to think it over. "You're right. Still, sentiment's true!" He paused for a moment, watching the clouds swirl across the sky. "Thank you, Donna."

She watched the light play on the nearby diamond coral. "Don't mention it. Besides... thank you for taking me along."

He grinned down at her, wide and serene. He really meant it, like when he'd saved her on her almost wedding day, like when he'd carried all her bags into the TARDIS. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

A warm feeling started to spread through her at that, one that had nothing at all to do with the tea. She could become addicted to this feeling, to his kindness. To _him_. It was terrifying, just as it had been earlier, but the trust and appreciation that sat comfortably between them and bound them together made all the fear worth it.


End file.
